To write a case study, you examine one person, group, organization or event in depth to answer a specific question. The value lies in detailed, real-world evidence analyzed through theory.
This page covers when a case study is the right approach, the main types, how to choose a case and collect evidence, a standard structure, how to write the analysis and the checks to run before you submit.
What an Academic Case Study Does
An academic case study investigates a bounded case in its real context, uses several sources of evidence, and analyses that evidence with a theoretical framework to answer a research question. It ends with findings and their implications.
A business school "case analysis" is related but different: there you usually diagnose problems in a given case and recommend actions.
When a Case Study Is the Right Approach
Case studies suit "how" and "why" questions about events you cannot control, especially when the boundary between the case and its context is blurred. They are common in education, health, business, social work, politics and psychology.
- You want depth rather than breadth.
- The context is part of what you are studying.
- The case is unusual, revealing or typical of a wider group.
- You can access several kinds of evidence about it.
If your question needs a statistically representative sample, a survey or experiment may suit it better.
Types of Case Study
| Type | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Exploratory | Investigate a little-understood issue and generate questions | How a new app is used on one hospital ward |
| Descriptive | Describe a case in detail within its context | How a school runs its peer-mentoring scheme |
| Explanatory | Explain why something happened | Why a merger failed to deliver savings |
| Intrinsic | Understand a case that is interesting in itself | An unusual rehabilitation outcome |
| Instrumental | Use a case to understand a wider issue | One council's response to illuminate local climate policy |
| Multiple or collective | Compare several cases | Three start-ups' approaches to remote hiring |
Selecting the Case and Framework
Choose a case that can answer your question and that you can study properly. Explain your choice: is the case typical, extreme, critical to testing a theory or simply accessible?
Define the boundaries clearly, such as the time period, the people included and the setting. Then choose a framework, a theory or model that tells you what to look for, such as stakeholder theory for an organizational case or a change model for a clinical one.
Collecting Evidence from Several Sources
Strong case studies draw on more than one kind of evidence and compare them, an approach called triangulation. Agreement between sources strengthens your findings; disagreement is itself worth analyzing.
- Interviews and focus groups
- Documents such as reports, policies, minutes and records
- Observation of the setting
- Quantitative data, such as performance figures
- Artifacts, such as products, websites or teaching materials
Where your case involves people, follow ethical rules on consent and anonymity. Use pseudonyms and remove identifying details.
Case Study Structure
| Section | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Introduction | The issue, the research question and why the case matters |
| Literature review | What is known and the theory you will apply |
| Method | Case selection, boundaries, data sources, analysis and ethics |
| Case description | Essential context about the case, kept concise |
| Findings and analysis | Themes or patterns in the evidence, interpreted through theory |
| Discussion | How findings relate to the literature, and their implications |
| Conclusion | The answer to the question, limitations and recommendations |
Shorter coursework case studies may combine sections. Follow the headings in your brief if it sets them.
Writing the Analysis
The analysis is where a case study earns its marks. Organize it by theme or by the elements of your framework, not as a chronological story.
- Code your evidence: label passages or data points by theme.
- Group codes into a small number of main themes.
- For each theme, present the evidence from different sources.
- Interpret it using your framework: what does theory predict, and does the case fit?
- Note contradictions and alternative explanations.
Example excerpt. Staff at the clinic described the new triage system as "faster but colder". Appointment records support the first claim: average waiting time fell during the first three months. Patient comments, however, suggest the speed came at the cost of continuity, since patients rarely saw the same clinician twice. Read through the lens of relational care theory, the case suggests that efficiency gains can erode the trust on which adherence depends.
Generalizing from One Case
A single case cannot prove a statistical rule, and markers know that. What it can do is support analytic generalization: showing how a theory works, or fails, in a real setting.
State the limits honestly. Explain which features of your case may be unusual and which settings your findings might reasonably inform.
Final Checklist
- A clear research question drives the study.
- The case and its boundaries are defined and justified.
- Evidence comes from more than one source.
- The analysis is organized by theme, not by timeline.
- Theory is used to interpret, not just mentioned.
- Limitations and ethics are addressed.
- All sources are cited in your required style.
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Frequently Asked Questions
An academic case study researches a case to answer a question. A case analysis, common in business courses, diagnoses problems in a given case and recommends actions.
Coursework case studies are often 1,500 to 3,000 words; research case studies can be much longer. Follow your brief.
It can, but multiple sources make findings stronger. Most markers expect some triangulation.
Usually, yes. It sets out what is already known and the theory you will use to analyze the case.
Often, if you follow ethical rules on consent and anonymity and have permission where needed.
Not statistically. A case can support or challenge a theory, which is called analytic generalization.
Usually the past tense for what happened and what you found, and the present tense for theory and implications.